Durand Line fencing: Kabul, Islamabad trade barbs

KABUL/PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Kabul and Islamabad have once again traded barbs over fencing of the Durand line, with both sides sticking to their guns.

Border force commander Maulvi Sanaullah Sangin vowed on Wednesday the Islamic Emirate would not allow fencing on the disputed British-era frontier.

Speaking to a private TV channel, Sangin stressed: “We will never allow border fencing to continue … we will not allow it anymore.”

Sangin’s remarks came in reaction to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s statement that the Durand Line spat would be resolved through diplomatic channels.

Also on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief insisted the fencing project would continue as planned.

The blood of martyred soldiers had gone into in erecting the fence, Director General Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar told a news conference in Rawalpindi.

The fence was being built in an effort to protect the people on both sides and to regulate trade between the neighbours, he argued.

Gen. Iftikhar added: “The fence is needed to regulate security and trade. The purpose is not to divide the people, but to protect them.”

The Durand Line fencing was 94 percent complete, he said, maintaining: “We are focused and the work that is underway will be completed in some time.”

Gen. Iftikhar went on to comment: “The blood of our martyrs was spilled in erecting this fence. It is a fence of peace. It will be completed.”

Asked about the uprooting of a portion of the fence by Taliban guards, he characterised the incidents as localised problems.

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